…with a twist. Sean Lennon and model girlfriend Kemp Muhl have recreated Annie Leibovitz’s iconic 1981 Rolling Stone cover photo of a naked John Lennon, his legs curled around his wife, Yoko Ono (see below). The photograph, taken by Terry Richardson for Purple magazine’s fall issue, has Muhl taking the place of Lennon the Elder, while Ono is played by Lennon the Younger. Click here for the full pic (mildly NSFW).
On a purely editorial note, I prefer the RS version with John clinging to Ono, seemingly in desperation; the moment seems intimate, almost. The new one lacks that raw visual emotion and errs on the side of caution by using a nude Muhl rather than a nude Lennon. But I digress. Since we’re on the subject, Leibovitz recalls the spontaneous creation of the original cover photo:
What is interesting is she said she’d take her top off and I said, ‘Leave everything on’ — not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to her and it was very, very strong. You couldn’t help but feel that she was cold and he looked like he was clinging on to her. I think it was amazing to look at the first Polaroid and they were both very excited.